Displays built from mechanical light modulators are an attractive alternative to displays based on liquid crystal technology. Mechanical light modulators are fast enough to display video content with good viewing angles and with a wide range of color and grey scale. Mechanical light modulators have been successful in projection display applications. Backlit displays using mechanical light modulators have not yet demonstrated sufficiently attractive combinations of brightness and low power. There is a need in the art for fast, bright, low-powered mechanically actuated displays. Specifically there is a need for mechanically actuated displays that can be driven at high speeds and at low voltages for improved image quality and reduced power consumption.
In addition, a significant manufacturing industry has developed around the manufacturing of liquid crystal displays. Typical MEMS manufacturing techniques, however, are often incompatible with the processes used by the liquid crystal display industry in manufacturing the thin-film components used to control liquid crystal displays. To take advantage of the capital already invested in the display manufacturing industry, there is a need in the art, for methods of manufacturing MEMS-based displays that are compatible with of the processes used for liquid crystal display manufacturing.